Do Board Game RULES Actually RULE? - Do's and Don'ts!

When you get a new board game, one of the biggest hurdles to get through is powering through a set of game rules. It can often feel like an absolute chore and it is definitely one aspect of board gaming that I am not really that keen on! I often feel like we are constantly learning new rules all the time and its often impossible to remember absolutely all of them! So I guess the question here is whether more rules actually make a better board game? Or do they simply make them less desirable to play.
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The Board Game Sanctuary is a family friendly board game channel that aims to introduce the board gaming hobby to new and seasoned players in a light, fun and humourous way.

[@leighperrott]

Loved the intro as I'm always reading rulebooks, even for games I don't own... 😂My partner also hates the rules hurdle. It actually makes her a great playtester, because if anything I design is too fiddly she definitely lets me know!

[@BoardGameSanctuary]

Thanks so much Leigh! Yes most people who aren't really into gaming find the rules teach a bit tricky. Most of the time they just say ' lets play a practice round or lets just do this' Its great that you get your partner to play test your games. My hubby does tell me when we play a game that has rules that are too convoluted. :)

[@BoardGameSanctuary]

G'day everyone! I hope you are having a great day. What are your thoughts on rules to a new game you have just gotten. What do you think could make learning a new game easier? I love playing lots of medium weight euros and it often takes me weeks to get through a rule book which means the game doesn't get played for weeks or months. I love these sorts of topical discussions. Feel free to share your thoughts, stories and experiences below. This is a safe space to chat. Cheers Danny :)

[@unlimitedrabbit]

John Company Second Edition's rulebook is more effective at putting me to sleep than NyQuil.

[@sapien01010]

For me, the biggest barrier to having fun with a first play-through is card ability text. I should preface this by saying that many of my favorite games-Spirit Island, Arkham LCG, Terraforming Mars-are card heavy. Fortunately, I had the benefit of learning these games at my own leisure. But if I am playing new game in a multiplayer setting where my performance is based on not only reading a ton of card text but also understanding the strategic implications of said text, it creates an incredibly high pressure situation for me.

[@noizeemama3697]

I think it is funny that you used Bitoku for this. Their rule book is nuts! I just tell people to ignore it and just use the cheat sheet. Hell, that thing is long.

[@BoardGameSanctuary]

Yes the Bitoku rule book is really really hard to get through. Learning the solo mode ontop of it is like learning a new subject area from the start.

[@noizeemama3697]

Oh crap. I haven't learned the solo mode yet. I need to get on that. You should do a video on it! :) @@BoardGameSanctuary

[@gadgetgeekgirl]

Bitoku took such as long time to get to the table. That rule book is horrendous, and then when you play it everything just clicks. I didn't even try and play it with my partner as she would hate it just for the confusing terminology and over fussy look.

[@BoardGameSanctuary]

Yes, I totally agree. The game play once you play it is actually quite straight forward and fun. I kinda wished that maybe they muted the background colours a bit so it didn't look so intimidating to new players, but then again that's part of its charm. Yes. the rule book was a tough read! @@gadgetgeekgirl

[@andygraf4997]

I like your videos but if I may share one of my board game pet peeves it’s when people don’t share the title. You see this all the time on Facebook groups where people just assume we all can recognize what’s in the picture. I dunno if it’s a joke in your video but you take it a step further and some shots have the wrong game rule book (see the shot with the root rule book but Robin Hood game box. There’s so many games that looked neat in this vid (like that tile placing hive game) and I have no clue how to even begin looking for it. A simple text in the corner could help that. Thanks for your videos, I do think they’re good. Especially your skits

[@BoardGameSanctuary]

Yes that Root and Robin Hood Video shot was from a past video I made on the Robin Hood Game. Thanks for the feedback. I totally understand and will put in the game names in the broll shots in future videos! Let me know if there are any games you want more info on.

[@corey3145]

Your comment to the effect of not hitting the exceptions too hard resonated with me as I sometimes try to get to thorough with my explanations. Great and relevant vid! Keep 'em coming!

[@chloecrawford5426]

One of my games had a QR code on the rulebook that links to a video on how to set up/play!

[@hermanturnip3984]

Had never heard of Brew before, but after seeing the quick glimpses you showed it looked interesting enough to track down. Found a cheap copy and bought it. Looking forward to playing it with my son this weekend. Thanks!

[@BoardGameSanctuary]

You are most welcome. Yes its a cheap game but it is actually really really fun. Plus the theme is really cool! Enjoy and Im glad I could help :)

[@csrmina]

Great video I hope every board game designer/rule book designer listens to this! I think a bad rule book or unnessessery over complicated rules are the things that makes me dislike a game the most sadly. It can also make a really bad board game experience when you have to reference constantly to un intuitively iconography or when the game designer have invented “new” words that you have to sort of both understand and learn. That is not interesting or smart it is ok to maybe do those things in the story (that you maybe don’t have to understand everything) but not in the rules that needs to be super clear. Also having a great tutorial (no need for reading the rule book) or in a bigger game maybe even having a couple of missions or setups in a row you can play through that slowly adds more rules and things. Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion did those things perfectly plus also ISS vanguard and Aeons End. The games I really want to love now are Septima (bought the deluxe edition), Earth born rangers, Mage knight and Etherfields but I just haven’t gotten the flow in and all the rules right so it really makes me not want to play them :(

[@triskani]

Please post the name of the games shown.

[@BoardGameSanctuary]

Yes will do from now on.:) Thanks for the feedback

[@rks6276]

still waiting for your top 100 or top 50 board games of all time....since 2 years

[@BoardGameSanctuary]

It has taken me over 2 years to compile it. Lol I have spreadsheets of my lists, but I continually am revising them! :)

[@Hanes.Review]

Hello! Thanks for your video, I chose Songbirds over Arboterum because I don't want to be the enemy of my wife. Anymore 2p cute fun competitive card game recommendation? I have Hanamikoji and Fox in the forest already

[@BoardGameSanctuary]

I have made a video comparing songbirds with arboretum actually! :) Some other cute two player card games I can recommend is Canopy, Jaipur,

[@Hanes.Review]

@@BoardGameSanctuary weird, I thought I was replying to your songbird vs arboterum video all this time. Now I realized I put it in the wrong video.